


Event Borders, Company Meetings and Sleepless Nights

by santemiso



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dialogue Heavy, Enjoying Each Other's Company, Holding Hands, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25311664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/santemiso/pseuds/santemiso
Summary: After a trip from the kitchen, Itaru suddenly collapses on the way to his dorm room. A worried Tsumugi takes care of him for the night.For A3 Rare Pairs Week 2020 (Day 4: Restless Nights)
Relationships: Tsukioka Tsumugi/Chigasaki Itaru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56
Collections: A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020





	Event Borders, Company Meetings and Sleepless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for A3 Rare Pairs Week 2020. For Day 4, i chose **Restless Nights**. 3 works in one week, i'm on a roll...  
> I felt like writing TsumuIta and here we are...
> 
> Enjoy!

As he was about to go up to his room, Tsumugi heard a loud thud from a distance.

“Itaru-kun?!”

An exhausted Itaru can be seen lying on the floor, face down. Tsumugi, shocked, quickly ran towards him and helped him get up.

“Are you okay, Itaru-kun?! Hang on, I’ll help you get up!”

Tsumugi tried to get him up, but Itaru wouldn’t budge. He kept slipping off to the ground, and the fact that both guys aren’t really that athletic doesn’t help. It took Tsumugi a few more tries until he managed to get Itaru up and put his arm around his shoulders.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

"Mm."

Slowly, Tsumugi takes Itaru to his dorm room. His room was close, but it took a while for them to get there as Itaru keeps falling off, which keeps him off-balance, but they managed to reach the room safe and sound. Tsumugi opened the door and carefully lays Itaru down on his sofa.

"...Alright. This should be fine…"

Tsumugi sits down on the left side of the sofa while catching his breath, and takes a glance on Itaru, who is fast asleep.

_Blanket….blanket…_ Tsumugi thought while looking around the room. _I wonder if there's a spare blanket around here…_

Unable to find a spare blanket, Tsumugi takes off his coat and places it over Itaru.

_ Chikage-san should be back soon, but I wonder if it's okay to leave him like this… but I guess it's fine. I'll check him back in the morning. _

"Good night, Itaru-kun."

Tsumugi was about to get up and leave when his hand was suddenly grabbed.

"Tsumugi."

"...Itaru-kun?"

Itaru lets his hand go, and rises up from his sleep. He hands Tsumugi back his coat. "Here. Sorry for making you carry me all the way. I'm fine now."

"It's nothing, Itaru-kun… but are you sure you're okay now? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine. It's NBD."

But Tsumugi was able to see right through it. It was clear that Itaru isn't doing fine. His eyebags are clearly visible, his skin is as pale as if he had just encountered a ghost, his hair unkempt, and had he not be found by Tsumugi, he would've spent the night lying on the ground outside. Tsumugi feels worried, but it's probably not the best for him to poke him around trying to find out what's going on.

_I guess it's better to leave it like that,_ Tsumugi thought. "Okay then. If everything is fine, then, I should take my leave _—_ "

Itaru sighs. " _—_ Stay."

"Huh?"

"Please stay… Tsumugi."

"Eh? If you say so, then… okay."

Tsumugi sits back down as Itaru leans back on the sofa, sitting a little closer to him. Silence fills the room, with Tsumugi feeling the atmosphere getting heavier on his side. He can sense Itaru glaring at him which made him rather nervous.

"I feel bad for lying. I knew you saw right through me. I can see it from your face."

"I'm sorry, Itaru-kun, I can't help but worry about you. You look unwell…"

Itaru yawns. "Ah, yeah. I haven't slept properly in a while. Been awake since yesterday."

"Since yesterday...?"

"Yup."

"I… see. But did you sleep the day before? You have been sleeping properly right?"

"Well… I've been only sleeping for an hour everyday for the past week…"

"You're saying that as if it's normal, Itaru-kun…"

"It kinda is, though. This happens once in a while or so."

"Eh?! But won't you feel tired after that?!"

"Nope. Energy drinks."

"That makes sense, but it's unhealthy if you keep drinking those…"

"Haha, don't worry. It's not like I'd immediately die after drinking it or anything."

"But still, try not to drink them too much."

_I feel like I'm being scolded by a parent..._ Itaru thought. "Okaaaay. I'll watch what I eat next time."

"Good to hear that. But... what were you doing in the first place, anyway? Why do you need to stay up that long?"

"You know. Games."

_Why am I not surprised..._ Tsumugi laughed nervously. "Of course, that’s very expected of you, Itaru-kun..."

"I need to stay at the top ranks after all. Ah, but this week has been a pain…"

"Hm?"

Itaru laid his head on Tsumugi’s shoulder. Tsumugi felt his heart skip a beat, feeling somewhat nervous, but he tries to look unfazed by the gesture.

_ Itaru-kun…? _

“For some reason this event has been annoying. Usually it’s easy to stay at the top ranks but I’ve almost slipped off of the border twice, a lot of my guild members are not doing much compared to usual, and I’ve been wasting more resources this time around…”

“I… see…” Tsumugi can only nod and smile.  _ I don’t understand any of that at all...  _

“Work has also been pretty hectic lately. We’ve been having so many meetings, the recent client had so many demands, and Senpai is always gone whenever I look for him, even in the dorms…hell, I don’t even know where he is now, or what he’s been up to.”

“Ah, yeah… I don’t really see Chikage-san much now, either...”

“Not to mention my daily gacha pulls have been garbage, I keep losing in guild fights, I’m running out of storage space in my inventory and I’ve already bought all of the extra spaces they have, and-- ah, I went a bit off. Sorry you had to listen to all of that, Tsumugi.”

That moment Tsumugi realized why Itaru wanted him to stay. He just wanted someone to listen to his woes. He hasn’t been sleeping well, and although Tsumugi doesn’t understand why most of these really bothered Itaru to the point of unrest, the least he can do is to lend an ear and give him the comfort that he needs.

“Go on.”

“Huh?”

Tsumugi gave him a warm smile. “It’s okay, Itaru-kun. I may not understand most of the things that you were saying, but I know it’s important to you, to the point that you sacrificed your sleep for this. I know this isn’t much, but if it can ease your pain, the least I can do is this much.”

“Tsumugi… you...”

Tsumugi then takes Itaru’s hand and holds it. “I’m all ears, Itaru-kun.”

Itaru looks away, a slight blush showing on his cheeks. “W-well. If you say so, then…”

Itaru goes on ranting for a while, nitpicking every single thing about the game event he’s currently participating in and went off about other things, like how the food he ate at the last company dinner tastes terrible and how the shampoo in the dorm bathrooms are still mixed with water, even though the plays and guest appearances were doing so well for the troupe. Tsumugi patiently listened to all of them, only nodding even though he doesn’t understand anything about video games or Itaru’s work life. They then started talking about the various happenings within MANKAI Company and its surroundings, and it ended up filling the room with laughter.

It was, indeed, a lively night in Room 103.

“Hey, Tsumugi… thanks for listening. Means a lot.”

“No problem, Itaru-kun. I can only do this much.”

“If it’s okay with you… can we stay like this for tonight?”

“...Yes.”

As they hold hands, fingers interlocked, Tsumugi rested his head above Itaru’s. The two then fell asleep shortly after. After days of going without enough sleep, Itaru is finally able to rest properly again, for once without remaining thoughts and worries lingering through his head.

**Author's Note:**

> _(The next day)  
>  "Rise and shine, both of you."  
> "Urgh... Senpai? When did you get here?"  
> "Huh? I was sleeping in my bed the whole time."  
> "What? Seriously? So you heard all of that?"  
> "Yeah. Never knew you and Tsumugi were a thing."  
> "Well we aren't- this isn't-"  
> " 'Hey Tsumugi... can we stay like this tonight?' "  
> "You..." (gets up, lets Tsumugi's hand go) "It's nothing like that, I swear."  
> "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."  
> "Why do I feel like I can't believe you on that..."_
> 
> ###### author's notes
> 
> fellas is it gay to listen to your friend rant with his head on your shoulder while holding hands  
> trying not to derail much this time, i hope it looks that way ><  
> thank you so much for reading! my [twitter](http://twitter.com/duelgigrivals)'s available if you want to hmu


End file.
